Prison overcrowding seen as key cause of problems

On the heels a federal task force recommendation that the way to stop violent crime is to put more prisoners behind bars, a new study released Sunday said overcrowded prisons lead to serious problems.

The Justice Department study said prisoners subjected to high degrees of sustained overcrowding -- the result of rising crime rates and very little new prison building -- have a higher death and suicide rate, more disciplinary problems, and a larger number of illness complaints than inmates who are not overcrowded.